Generational leadership aspirations should be part of your board strategy

I came across some interesting generational data recently in Harvard Business Review: while Gen X and Gen Y are drawn to leadership roles for their coaching and mentoring opportunities, Gen Z is more interested in the responsibility and freedom these roles bring; also, Gen X and Y would prefer entrepreneurship over working for an international company, while Gen Z is the opposite.

As organizations look to bring more Gen X, Y, and Zers onto their boards, how should these findings affect their approach? The motivations for serving on a board probably differ between these age groups, as will their goals for their time on the board.

Current Gen Z presence on boards and in formal leadership roles is probably pretty minimal at this point, but now is the time to get them on young patrons boards so they can start developing their leadership skills. If you don’t have a board to help run your young professionals group (you should consider it!), find other ways to delegate programming responsibility to your youngest members.

I sit on a board where recent college grads—the oldest members of Gen Z—are placed in charge of various committees, allowing them to use their enthusiasm and energy while sharing expertise. Bringing in these younger members also provides mentoring opportunities for the rest of the board, particularly Gen Xers and Millennials who will be looking for that experience out of their leadership positions. 

The entrepreneurial mindset of Gen Xers and Millennials suggests that they will want to take ownership of their board pursuits—which will likely yield a better product—and stretch the boundaries of what can be done, even if it means breaking with tradition in pursuit of a better process.

Gen Z, on the other hand, is generally more enthused by the idea of working for an international company over being an entrepreneur, and I think this is a reflection of the global interconnectedness in which Gen Z has been raised. As board members, they might be interested in bringing best practices from international corporations and growing the organization’s network, particularly through the use of social media.

The first hurdle for arts organizations to overcome is realizing the unique value that younger generations will bring to their boards. Finding and appealing to those people can take a similar approach to how fundraisers look at donor motivations. Having a better understanding of what motivates potential board members as leaders will allow your organization to realize a greater return on investment for your board recruitment efforts.